Thursday, 19 September 2013

Review: Forge World Legion MKIII Power Armour Set

Forge World's Horus Heresy kits seem to be some of their biggest selling items recently. Their uniqueness appeals to many who were taken in by stories of the Horus Heresy, and the kits make it much easier to build the armies. Space Marines formed the basis of the legions, and today, I'm reviewing one of my favourite patterns, the MKII "Iron".

This is the second MKIII set to come out from Forge World. This set features different poses from the first MKIII armours, and has additional Horus Heresy themed details, such as lightning bolts in place of the aquila. Even with the added details, the kit still costs £23.

In the kit, you'll find enough part to make five basic Space Marines. The key thing you do not get though are bolters or other weapons and accessories; you have to provide them yourself. However, they are compatible with pretty much all Space Marine rifle-sized weapons, and most Space Marine (or chaos) players will have spare bolters. If not, these make a great addition to this pattern of armour. To make things easier for you, the arms have been numbered with dots, so you know which pair makes a set.

On the quality side, these guys are pretty much perfect. There were no serious faults, just a few tiny air bubbles on the toes of some pairs of legs. The arms are on the thin side, but I think that's mainly due to the sculpt and design itself. Some of the gates on the kits are fairly thick, and on delicate areas like the torso collar, so be very careful when cutting parts off the sprues.

In terms of compatibility, this kit is pretty much like all space marine kits, and will fit together with anything Space Marine of Chaos Space Marine related. Three of the torsos have flat surfaces, ideal for details. On these models I have made, I have added Chaos Space Marine bolters, belt accessories and Thousand Sons heads. In a dry-fit, the back peg will also accept any type of conventional power pack. One thing to note is the armoured panels that come down from the torso, these can limit the movements you create with the model. This pattern of armour is known to be less mobile, so more static and heavy-set poses are best suited for it. Because it is so different to MKVIII and other modern patterns in terms of detailing, I recommend either making models mostly from MKII/II, or saving MKIII for heavier assault units and characters.

So there we are, another really neat kit from Forge World. Here are my main points-in-brief:

Pros
-Good quality
-Improved poses
-Good compatibility

Cons
-Can be considered expensive for five models (depends on comparision)
-No basic guns or accessories
-Thick gates on delicate parts, requires caution